11:59am: The team has formally announced the signing on its website.
THURSDAY, 8:54am: It’ll be a straight rest-of-season contract, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, indicating that it won’t extend into 2014/15. The signing will take place later today, Charania notes.
WEDNESDAY, 9:03pm: In addition to bringing on Mike James, the Bulls will fill out their roster by signing Lou Amundson in the near future, a league source tells Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Amundson will be signed for the remainder of the season, and will be available for the playoffs.
James’ signing is set for Thursday, but it is unclear yet when Amundson will sign. The eighth-year big was waived in December by the Pelicans, and hasn’t played in the NBA since, despite rumored interest from the Wizards. Amundson has career averages of 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
If Admundson’s signing goes through, Chicago’s roster will be set for their postseason run. After waiving Erik Murphy and bringing in Jimmer Fredette, Ronnie Brewer, and now James and Amundson, the Bulls are set to reach the 15-man roster limit after spending part of the year under the 13-man minimum. It’s believed that the Bulls will avoid paying the luxury tax this season, regardless of whether Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson earn their potential salary bonuses. Trading away Luol Deng and having Murphy’s waived contract claimed by the Jazz dropped the team’s salary obligations enough to create room for the influx of new faces.